Proverbial medicine
Lines for complicated times
Laugh they said
and the world laughs with you.
So I laughed
until I cried.
Over. It’s all over!
Spilt milk,
bloody murder,
uncle!
Do not a mountain
from a molehill make,
this too
shall pass.
He who laughs last
laughs longest,
which I said goes without saying,
and anyway, first things first—
Which early bird
gets the worm,
the one in the hand,
the two in the bush?
No matter, we’re killing those
with one stone,
the more
the merrier!
Another day
another dollar,
preaching to the choir.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Nope. I just checked. Nothing’s changed. The world we live in is still as batshit as ever.
I’m not making light of it. Truly. I spend inordinate amounts of time wondering what it means, how it came to be this way, and whether there’s anything at all I can do to make a difference. When the crazy threatens to swallow me up, I find solace in plants and poetry. Fewer words. Less noise. Stuff I can get my head around.
I’m also drawn to laughter. Recently a friend recounted the acrobatics required to pack all of her belongings into a moving pod. (“Like some kind of f*cking laser defying ninja climbing into the back… We laughed so hard, I almost peed my pants.”) And I remembered the time my sides hurt from the hilarity of hauling a mattress to a new location with my mom, tears streaming down our faces, work coming to a complete stop as we doubled over and gave in completely to the joy of the moment.
Sometimes, you have to laugh1.
~Elizabeth
Wait for Mama to have the last laugh in this classic Carol Burnett skit.
Yup. If we don't laugh we cry.
Husband and I roared with laughter the other night. I took a video of the Terrier fast asleep as everything twitched. Nose, eyelids, ears, paws - it went on and on and then the rippingest fart emerged. We just couldn't contain ourselves.
So yes, let's all laugh; it has great power.
PS: Look up Tom Read Wilson on Instagram. He is the consummate communicator on all things language and is often drily risque and angelic in the process. My daughter and I adore him.
Absolutely love this writing today.... I laughed at the way you developed it and I laughed at your word choices.... I cannot count the times ..and many of them were on retreats like you attended with me... where something was so funny that I almost... YES.."peed" in my pants.... The sad part is it's hard to find something that funny anymore, because there are so many things that are so sad and frightening.... A snicker is about all I can muster these days...